Berlin court rules in favour of Palestinian journalist dismissed by Deutsche Welle for 'anti-Semitic' posts

A court in Germany ruled on Tuesday that the dismissal of a Palestinian-Jordanian journalist by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle for alleged expression of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel views was invalid.

The Berlin Labour Court said in a statement released Thursday that DW’s dismissal of Farah Maraqa last year was "not binding" and that a staff council hearing to determine whether or not she be dismissed "was not carried out properly". 

The posts in question predated Maraqa's joining the German broadcaster as a freelancer in 2017 and as a contracted member of staff in 2021, meaning there was "no breach of duty under the employment contract", the court said.

Maraqa said in a tweet reacting to the verdict on Wednesday that she was "speechless, overwhelmed and grateful".

The Berlin court said DW can still appeal Tuesday's ruling at a federal level.

Maraqa was one of five members of staff, of either Lebanese or Palestinian origin, fired by DW in February 2022 following an investigation into alleged anti-Semitism at the media outlet's Arabic-language news section. Two more Palestinian journalists were fired days later over social media posts made during the 2014 bombing of Gaza, which saw 2,251 Palestinians killed, the majority civilians according to the UN.

Human rights groups called into question both the investigation, which scoured through years of social media posts and news articles written by the accused staff members, and the report detailing the probe's findings.

Euro-Med Monitor called the report "biased, flawed and dangerous", and criticised the inquiry for using the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism which critics say threatens free speech on the issue of Palestine and Israel.

Maraqa won a lawsuit against DW in September 2022, with the Berlin Labour Court ruling that her dismissal was unjustified. 

A judge ordered DW to return Maraqa to work starting from the date of the ruling and backdate pay from the date of her dismissal - but the broadcaster decided to appeal the decision.

Rights groups have also pointed to a larger trend in Germany of censoring pro-Palestine content and limiting freedom of expression with regards to Israel.

A spokesperson for DW claimed that the broadcaster lost the case "due solely to formal errors".

"The presiding judge emphasized that the pieces in question are, in her opinion, clearly anti-Israeli and antisemitic in nature and incompatible with the values for which Deutsche Welle stands," the spokesperson told The New Arab.

"DW will not make any additional statements prior to reception of the written judgement and the opinion of the court."

This article has been edited to include a response from DW.